The Nanny’s Secret was the first domestic thriller I ever wrote—but it wasn’t my first novel.
I’ve been a full-time author since 2018, publishing fantasy and speculative fiction since 2016. Most readers know me for The Ravenglass Chronicles, a sprawling epic fantasy series full of wyverns, assassins, and strange magic.
Over several years, I built an entire universe of interconnected stories—epics, novellas, side tales, and serials—all tied to my fictional Ravenglass Universe.
And in 2022, I decided to write something entirely different—a palate cleanser.
At the time, I was reading a lot of psychological thrillers. They’d become my comfort genre when I wasn’t deep in fantasy worldbuilding. I loved the tension, the secrets, the slow unravelling of trust between ordinary people. It’s a form of storytelling that hits close to home—less about saving kingdoms and more about saving face, marriage, or sanity.
That was how The Nanny’s Secret began.
I didn’t plan for it to go anywhere. It was supposed to be a one-off project, something fun to write before diving back into fantasy. I even told myself that no one would ever see it. After all, it didn’t fit my established author brand. I’d spent years building an audience for fantasy, and the idea of confusing readers—or having to start from scratch with a new pen name—didn’t appeal at all.
But something about writing The Nanny’s Secret felt different.
It was grounded. Real. Intimate. The story came easily, rooted in the kind of small-town settings I knew so well. It pulled from my experiences as a court reporter, from the cases and human stories I’d seen up close—people under pressure, lies unravelling, families falling apart behind closed doors. The world didn’t need dragons or magic to feel dangerous; the tension came from truth.
When I finished it, I thought that would be the end of it. But then I had another idea. And another. Before long, I’d written a second domestic thriller, then a third. Now, a few years later, I’ve written eight—and I’m currently working on my ninth.
At some point, I shared a few of them with a friend of mine who writes thrillers. He told me they were good—publishable, in fact—and that I needed to stop hiding them away. I explained that I didn’t want to confuse my fantasy readers, and that I didn’t want the hassle of building another brand from scratch.
His response was simple. “Drop your first name,” he said. “Make it J. Cronshaw. It’s still you, just different shelves.”
That small change opened everything up.
So here we are. The Nanny’s Secret is now out in the world under my new pen name, J. Cronshaw. It’s been both exciting and humbling to begin again from the ground up—building a new website, setting up social media accounts, creating a fresh newsletter, and reaching a completely new readership.
I was hesitant at first. It felt strange to be “new” again after years of being an established author. But it’s also been freeing.
These thrillers have given me a creative outlet that feels personal and immediate. They let me write about real places near where I live—Morecambe, Heysham, Lancaster—and draw from my own surroundings. I walk those streets, hear those accents, see the same coastal skies my characters do. Every story feels grounded in reality, not in distant kingdoms or imagined empires.
It’s a change of pace from wyverns and princesses, and I love it.
There’s something invigorating about rediscovering the thrill of being a beginner, but with the benefit of experience. I know the pitfalls to avoid this time. I know how to pace a story, how to connect with readers, and how to sustain a long-term creative life. That mix of newness and confidence has made this transition incredibly rewarding.
I can’t wait to share more of these thrillers with you. They’re stories I care deeply about—tales of secrets, lies, and the fragile edges of everyday life. And if the ideas keep coming at the rate they are now, I’ll be writing them for many years to come.
If you’d like to follow along with what I’m working on, you can listen to my Author Diary podcast, available on Spotify or any podcast app. I’ve been recording a weekly episode since 2017, talking about my writing, reading, and creative life—and I haven’t missed a single week.
It’s funny. When I started The Nanny’s Secret, I thought it was a one-off experiment. Now it feels like the start of something much bigger.
And I couldn’t be happier about it.
